The Scorpio Races: A Lost Tale
by Galaxy14
Summary: Exactly a year before the book, we finally figure out an untold story. One that contains the monstrous capall uisce and a person that manages to befriend one. It's November again, so someone will die. (sorry, horrible summary, but I promise it's much better) Rated T for upcoming violence.
1. Prologue

_**A/N: Hello again readers. Welcome to my first story of the new year. This, as you should know, is based on the Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater and I own nothing. Please enjoy the prologue to what I hope will be a successful story.**_

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No one knows my name on Thisby, not yet anyway. I came from the mainland to race in this year's races, but many years ago my family did live on this tiny little island, I was just a baby when they left. But this year, I'm racing and this year, I will beat Sean Kendrick and his blood red stallion.

A week before the official training began, I caught a beautiful _capall uisce_ down on the Thisby beach at night. Old tales always tell of _capall _being caught at night were faster and stronger than the ones caught during the day, and I put my faith in that tale because I'll need everything to win. My wonderful water horse was a piebald mare which I named Skata. Her eyes, piercing and icy blue, went wild each time someone touched her. Except for me. The only person in the world Skata would trust was me, me and _only me_.

~X…x…X~

I walked through Skarmouth, pushing through the crowds of fish smelling men to get to Gratton's bar to register Skata and I for the races. Not many people were here yet due to a storm off shore, but surely enough, they would be here tomorrow. Crowds and crowds of them all cramming into this tiny island. I'm surprised it hasn't sunk under the weight of the November crowds so far.

Dory Maud's voice booms out over the throng of people in laughter as I ask if I could register to race. The bar goes quiet for a moment and I feel people's gazes turn toward me, but then just as quick as the disturbance came, they fell back into conversation. I could see why Dory Maud would think it was a ridiculous idea; a small brown haired, blue-eyed kid registering to compete in the Scorpio Races, the most dangerous event probably on this earth. Her and I were thinking the same thing _"that kid will probably be a horrible bet, 45 to 1"_. But finally she replies after scanning her eyes over my body. "Name, boy?"

Blood freezes in my veins and I try to think fast, I try to shrug it off. I didn't think I would be able to even get to this point where she accepted it. "My horses' name is Skata."

Dory Maud glares, "I want _your_ name."

"Pat. My name's Pat Murray," I reply hesitantly, making my voice sound a bit unnatural as I try to make it deeper. But when I see my name and Skata's written on the board with all the other racers, I let a small smile creep onto my face. I pay the fee and finally, I'm in. Prize money and fame, here I come.


	2. Chapter 1: The First Day

_**A/N: Hello again, quick update? I think so. The next one might not be as quick because I have yet to begin writing it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this and once again, I own nothing except my character. (Oh, and just to be not confusing, this chapter starts out with a flashback.)**_

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_Elise whines and cries for father as I go to the kitchen to stir the potato soup. "Sissy, they'll be home soon."_

_ It's a night of a big storm and I can hear the wind howling past the low buildings. Father is still out working at the factory and mama is already asleep after an exhausting day of working. Mama is rarely home, but she got to come home tonight only because the weather got so bad everyone else went to shelter inland. Papa said he would be home soon but that was a few hours ago when our neighbor, Patrick, told us the factory workers were getting off because of the same reason as mama._

_ "Aoife!" Elise screams then runs as fast as her five year old legs could carry her to me before latching onto my waist. "Lightning! I'm scared!"_

_ Her squealing is starting to terrify me that she'll wake up the neighbors, last time that happened, we almost got kicked out. I had no worries about mama though, she could sleep through anything after a long day's work. "Shh, Elise, shh, it's okay. There's nothing to worry about. Mama is here and papa will be home soon."_

~X…x…X~

Lightning crashes outside and I imagine hearing Elise's little cries and squeals. I imagine her climbing onto the bed to cling to me and bury her face in my oversized shirt. But she's not here, not here with me on Thisby. Elise's older sister isn't even Aoife anymore. Aoife is now Pat, a short haired boy ready to ride on the back of a gigantic _capall uisce_. That giant _capall _is, right now, whinnying and screaming louder than the thunder ripping the sky apart. I fling the poorly made hotel bed sheets away from myself and get up, heading out to where Skata was. Rain trickled down from the sky, not very hard yet. The downpour was supposed to be tomorrow evening; at least that's what the fishermen told me. Skata's eyes were wide and I could see white rims all around the deadly blue. Her lips were drawn back to bare teeth, considerably sharper than the teeth of an island pony, and for now, she looked more lupine than equine. I approach slowly with my hands up, I know how fast and how deadly these horses can strike. It's almost snake-like how they whip their heads around and lash out, I've seen one too many people get their limbs amputated because of the damage. But many people also die, too. The wind howls over the island, carrying with it the salty sea's song and Skata sings back to it. The almost-November sea is mesmerizing and the magic is getting stronger.

"Shhh, Skata. Shhh, my beautiful girl." The sounds I make sound like the ocean, breaking Skata's hearing from the ocean song. I close the distance between me and her and gently reach out to put my hand on her broad neck. She calms almost instantly when my hand touches her slippery, almost seaweed like, skin. Step one, complete. Now she needs to stay calm through the first day of November when the races are. And we need to win, if we do, I'll reveal that Pat Murray is actually a short haired girl named Aoife who is from the mainland. We just have to beat the oceans song and the stallion named Corr.

Lightning and thunder crash overhead and Skata whinnies over the noise, lifting each of her hooves as she nervously trots in place. She needed to be ridden, her getting nervous like this was pretty dangerous. Nervousness in a _capall _means a whole ton of injuries and possibly even death.

We wait in the makeshift shelter until the worst passes and then I saddle her up and we ride down to the beach on the rocky cliff path, because regulation requires riders to train within one hundred yards of the sea. Through the saddle and my fingers in her mane, I could feel and hear the oceans song playing in my veins. But I kept Skata calm and snap out of it when distant thunder crackles against the early morning sky.

I whisper to my _capall uisce _then dig my calves into her sides and she surges forward with unprecedented speed. No island or mainland pony could outpace any _capall_ but I was beginning to think Skata was even faster than many of her kind. The wind whips short strands of my hair around my face like a dirty halo, and Skata's mane back into my face to make small red marks across my cold skin. My heart pounds in rhythm with Skata's and blood race sin my veins. My _capall's _hooves pound small craters into the newly wet beach sand and after what seems like just a few strides, we're already to the end of the smooth part of the beach. Meaning that we had already travelled more than two miles in what seemed like seconds. By that time, though, Skata had begun to veer toward the crashing waves of the Scorpio Sea. "Skata!" I call in a warning, but I doubt she heard because as soon as the words left my mouth, they were whisked away by the wind. So I result in yanking the reins away from the waters which seems to have done a better job than words alone, mental note for next time. The first of November is coming soon and that siren song of the sea needs to stop calling to her so we can win.

Once back under control, Skata falls back into her long stride. But soon we have to turn back because we would run out of beach in just moments if we did otherwise. Getting back to the cliff path was painless enough, but then I heard shouts and taunts from a few of the local boys. Mutt Malvern, one of the richest boys on the island, called my _capall uisce_ an island pony and said that I would have no chance. Another calls out that I race like a girl. Well, I sure hope I race like a girl because, under this boyish exterior, I am Aoife Murray. A girl who will beat all of them into the ground come the first of November.


End file.
